Fire-extinguisher



G. T. PEARSONS.

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. I2. 1917. R-ENEWED MAY 3,1921.

Patented Dec. 20, 1921.5

vwewfo z WW 351,; Mid? QHICWMW GEORGE T. PEARSONS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

Application filed April 12, 1917, Serial No. 161,397. Renewed May 3, 1921.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, Gnonon T. PnAn soNs, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of'Manhattan, in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Extinguishers, of which the following is a specification.

T his invention relates to fire extinguishers in which a fire extinguishing liquid is ejected from a reservoir, the fire extinguishing liquid being of such a character as to volatilize as it comes in contact with or adjacent the heat or" a fire and thereby forming a gas blanket to exclude the oxygen from the fire and smother the same, and it is the primary object of the invention to improve the general construction of fire extinguishers of this character to increase the efficiency thereof.

A further object is to provide a fire extinguisher in which the fire extinguishing liquid comprises a highly evaporable liquid, such as carbon tetrachlorid or a carbon tetrachlorid compound.

in the commercial use of fire extinguishers of this character it is required that the outlet of the reservoir be maintained open, or the contents of the reservoir of the extinguisher be open to the atmosphere, with the result that the fire extinguishing liquid quickly evaporates, and when it is desired to use the extinguisher the fire extinguishing liquid has evaporated or deteriorated and the extinguisher is useless. it is a further object of the invention to provide means to seal the fire extinguishing liquid from the out et.

It is another object of the invention to provide a fire extinguisher of this character in which the fire extinguishing liquid is ejected from the reservoir by a pressure created within the reservoir.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide a gas generator in which gas generating materials are carried therein in a separated condition and open to each other but prevented froin uniting or mixing in the normal upright position of the generator and are adapted to unite and mix and generate gas when inverted.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fire extinguisher in which the gas generator is placed in the fire extinguishing liquid, and the outlet of the generator provided with means to seal the same by the fire extinguishing liquid in the reservoir.

Another object of the invention is'to pro- Specifioation of Letters Eatent.

Patented Dec. 2@, 1921.

Serial No. 466,533.

vide an extinguisher which is set in operation by inverting the same, and to provide means to pivotally support the extinguisher and maintain it in upright position, said means including fusible means to release the extinguisher and permit it to assume an inverted position.

Uther objects and advantages will hereinai'ter appear.

In the drawing accompanying and iorming a part of this specification Figure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a fire extinguisher showing an embodiment of my invention, the section being taken on the line X-X of Fig. 2 and loolring in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 2 is a plan view.

Similar characters of reference designate like parts throughout the difierent views of the drawing.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing there is provided a reservoir to contain a fire extinguishing liquid comprising a cylindrical body portion 3 having a closed bottom l; and a head 5 having an opening closed by a removable cap 7. Trunnions 8, 9 extend laterally from the reservoir adjacent the one end, shown as the bottom, the axis of said trunnions being offset with relation to the longitudinal axis of the reservoir, as shown in Fig. 2 and for a purpose to be hereinafter described. The trunnions 8 and 9 are journaled in supports 10, 10 to pivotally carry the extinguisher. T he outlet of the reservoir in the present instance is in one of the supporting trunnions, as 8, for which purpose said trunnion is constructed in the form of a nozzle, as at 11.

The fire extinguishing liquid is adapted to be ejected from the reservoir by pressure within the reservoir, such for instance as carbonic acid gas pressure generated by means within the reservoir and operable by the inverting of the same. I have shown a type of generator substantially as disclosed in my co-pending application filed November 27, 1916, Serial No. 183,521 comprising a receptacle 12 open at one end and having an outlet in the closed end with a tube 13 secured in the outlet and extending into the receptacle, the bore. of the tube constituting a continuation of the outlet and having lateral ports 14L. A second receptacle 15 having one end open, which is in the nature of a cover, is adaptedto have telescoping connection over the open end of the receptacle 12, and the open end. cooperates with a flange 16 at thebottoin ot the receptacle 12 to provide an entirely closed receptacle. is a third receptacle 17 having an open end and of less diameter than=the receptacle 12 to provide a space between the walls of said receptaclesysaid third receptacle be ing supported upon the outlet tube 13 and thereby providing a space between the bot tomsof the two receptacles. Thisreceptacle is adapted to containan alkali, such asbicarbonate o'f'soda, to constitute one of the gas generating materials, and carries another receptacle 18 in the form of'a glass bottle having another gas generating materiahsuch as sulfuric or hydrochloric acid, free from the other gas generating material. in the normal position'of the extinguisher. Thebottle 18 is closed by a stepper 19 having'an outlet tube or tubes 20 and a pro jection21 toengage with the end of the receptaclef15 to maintain the bottle'within the third receptacle and the latter in position against the outlet tube 13. construction there is provided generator in which the gasgenerati'np; materials are held in a separated condition and 'atall times open to each other but prevented from uniting' in the normal upright position'of the generator and adapted to unite when the generator is inverted; The. tubes 20 extend to adjacent or above the top of the receptacle 17 and as the extinguisher is inverted the acid will saw through 'saidtubes to unite with the bicarbonateof soda in the receptacle 17 at a point below the'surlace thereof. To filter and render the gas anhydrous or dry and non-acid thereis provided a material in the space between the receptacles a d 17 through which the generated gas passes to absorb any particles of acid which may be thrown oil with the generated gas sodi urn carbonate having been found to purpose. I The outlet of the generator through the tube 23 is at all times open to the reservoir and as the generator is placed and immersed in the liquid in the reservoir the liquid serves tohe'rmetically seal the generatorand prevent deterioration of the gas generating materials.

The generator is carried in the reservoir in a tubularcarrier 22 secured to the bottom of the reservoir, and the generator beingan integral unit it may be removed for the purpose olt re-charging, cleaning or the substitution of another generator.

As stated the fire extinguishing liquid is carbon tetrachlorid or a carbon tetra chlorid compound which is of a highlyevapo rable or very volatile when exposed to'the atmosphere, andas it is essential thatthe outlet of the reservoir be at alltimesopen to the atmosphere means are provided to seal the fire extinguishing liquid from-the atmosphere through the outlet.

Engaging in the first receptacle y this This sealing means comprises a liquid or fluid which is non-evaporable, or has a low evaporability, when exposed to the atmosphere, and is interposed between the fire extinguishing liquid and the outlet. As shown in the drawing the extinguisher is set in operationby invertingand to seal the fire extinguishing liquid from the outlet a tube 23 is connected to the outlet to constitute a continuation thereof and Xtendinq to adiac nt one end or the top of the reservoir with its open end above the level of the fire extinguishing liquid, as shown in a general way by C. This tube 23 which is movable with the reservoir also serves to connect the outlet with the liquid adjacent the bottom of the reservoir and shut off the expelling gas pressure from the outlet durin the ejecting of thefire extinguishing liquid. The sealing liquid shown at S is 01 less specific gravity than the fire extinguishing liquid and will float-on the surface thereof, and the level of said sealing liquid is below the inlet tothe out let tube 23. In the use of an extinguisher oi? the invertible type glycerin has been round to satisfactorily answer the purpose of seal ing as when the"extinguisher is irkerted it will quickly pass through the fire extinguishing liquid and assume a position on the surface of said, liquid, and tiereby' is prevented, or the greater part thereof, from beingexpelled previous to the fire extinguishing liquid. To prevent the expelling of said sealing liquid after the fire extinguishing liquid has been expelled fromthe res ervoir, there is a space left between the end or" the reservoir and the inlet to the tube 23 suificient to accommodate the sealing liquid and permit the expel-ling of the gas.

By locating the supporting trunnions 9 adjacent the bottom and at one side of the longitudinal axis of the reservoir the tinguisher tends to always assume an inverted position. Suitable means are provided to releasably retain the extinguisher in upright position, and shown as a cable or chain 24 secured at one end, as at 25, to'the cover 7 and passing over a pulley 26 with 'the opposite end caught onto book 27, which may be at a place remote from the extinguisher. The extinguisher illustrated is for usein connection with tanks or vats containing highly combustible material, such as oil, and to be supported with the discharge nozzle 11 above the top or" the tank, wherebyas the extinguisher is set in operation the fire extinguishing liquid will be discharged 'directly over the top of the tank. To automatically set the extinguisher in operation when a fire occurs the cable 24has a link 28 or" material fusible at alow temperature, and upon the fusing of which link the ex tinguisher will be released and permitted to assume an inverted position. Tomaintain the cable sustained so as not to interfere with the inverting movement thereof the fusible means 28 is utilized to connect portions of the cable and provide an integral slack portion or loop 29 which will be of sufficient length to permit the extinguisher to assume an inverted position.

In operation the charged generator is placed in the carrier 22 when the fire extinguishing liquid is supplied to the reservoir and the cover 7 secured in place. When the extinguisher is inverted to utilize the same the acid will flow from the receptacle 18 through the tubes 20, and due to the length of the tubes will unite with the bicarbonate of soda at a point below the top of the soda. The gas generated by the mixing of the acid and soda passes between the walls of the receptacles 12 and 17 through the filtering material below the receptacle '12 and through the lateral ports 14 and through tube 13 into the reservoir where its force is exerted on the fire extinguishing liquid to discharge the same. As the extinguisher is inverted the generator will drop against the top, then the bottom, of the reservoir. To maintain the generator in an inverted position the carrier 22 and the generator are made of such length so that a portion of the generator will at all times engage in the carrier. As the extinguisher is inverted the sealing liquid S will immediately and quickly pass through the fire extinguishing liquid to assume a position on the top thereof,

whereby as the expelling force of the gas becomes sufficient to expel the contents of the reservoir the fire extinguishing liquid will be adjacent the bottom and be expelled.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a fire extinguisher, the combination of a reservoir to contain fire extinguishing liquid; an outlet for the reservoir; a liquid seal between the outlet of the reservoir and fire extinguishing liquid; and a gas generator in the reservoir having an outlet open to the reservoir, said generator being arranged to carry gas generating materials in a separated condition and open to each other in the normal upright position of the extinguisher and adapted to be sealed by immersion in the liquid in the reservoir.

2. In a fire extinguisher, the combination of a pivotally supported reservoir; an evaporable fire extinguishing liquid in said reservoir; an outlet for the reservoir through the pivotal support of the reservoir leading from one end and the top of the extinguisher in the normal position thereof to at all times maintain the interior of the reservoir open to the atmosphere; a non-evaporable liquid of less specific gravity than the fire extin guishing liquid to float upon the surface of the fire extinguishing liquid and seal the fire extinguishing liquid from the atmosphere through the outlet in the normal upright position of the extinguisher; fusible means to retain the extinguisher in upright position and the fusing of said means permitting the extinguisher to assume an inverted position; and a gas generator in the reservoir to generate gas and place the fire extinguishing liquid under compression when the extinguisher is inverted for the purpose specified.

3. In a fire extinguisher the combination of a pivotally supported reservoir to contain fire extinguishing liquid and having an outlet to at all times maintain the interior of the reservoir open to the atmosphere; a liquid to seal the fire extinguishing liquid from'the atmosphere through the reservoir outlet in the normal upright position of the extinguisher; means to retain the extinguisher in upright position adapted to automatically release the extinguisher and permit it to assume an inverted position when the temperature reaches a predetermined degree; and a gas generator immersed in the liquid in the reservoir having an outlet open to the reservoir, said generator being arranged to carry gas generating materials at all times open to each other but pre vented from uniting in the normal upright position of the extinguisher and adapted to unite and generate gas when the extinguisher is inverted to place the liquid in the reservoir under compression for the purpose specified. m

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 9th day of April, 1917.

GEO. T. PEARSONS. 

